Many electrical devices require one or more batteries to operate. One such electrical device is a monocular night vision device which allows military and law enforcement personnel to conduct operations in low light or at night.
A conventional monocular night vision device uses a dual battery housing assembly to energize an image intensifier and an electronics assembly including a printed circuit board and flex circuitry. The conventional dual battery housing assembly provides a battery compartment, holds the electronics, and connects the battery and the electronics to the remainder of the system. Conventional dual battery housing assemblies require two 1.5 volt direct current AA batteries to operate. Together, the two batteries provide the 2 to 3 volts that are needed to energize an image tube in the night vision device. However, operating a system with two batteries instead of one battery increases the size of the battery housing assembly and the weight of the system. The extra weight of a second battery can become a large factor when the system is worn in a head mount or with a helmet mount for hands-free viewing. The two battery system also has greater visual obstruction inhibiting peripheral vision around the system.
In addition, instead of using fie batteries until the lives of the batteries have been depleted, many users insert new batteries into the monocular night vision device before the beginning of each mission to ensure the user will not have to replace batteries during a mission. When a user replaces batteries before they have been depleted, twice as many batteries are used than if the monocular night vision device required only a single battery.
Furthermore, the conventional monocular night vision device design uses a battery cartridge that is designed for use with a side-by-side dual battery compartment. Such a battery cartridge is not as easy to operate as a screw-on-cap designed for use with a single battery compartment. For example, the dual battery cartridge uses release levers that can be inadvertently activated causing the battery cartridge to disengage from The battery housing during operation. Accordingly, the battery cartridge tends not to be robust enough to endure the rugged environment required in military and law enforcement operations.
In addition, the distance between the battery cartridge and the variable gain knob assembly on the conventional dual battery housing is very limited, being as close as 0.030 in. In order to compensate for size increases of the battery cartridge, the diameter of the variable gain knob assembly has been made smaller than desired making it difficult for some users to operate the knob, especially when wearing gloves.
The conventional dual battery cartridge is coupled to the rest of the system via a neck lanyard which can cause difficulty in inserting the battery cartridge into the battery housing since the neck lanyard can get in the way during insertion of the battery cartridge.
To overcome the shortcomings of a dual battery housing, a new single battery housing is provided. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved battery housing for a monocular night vision device that is smaller in size, lighter in weight, and easier to use than the dual battery housing. A related object is to provide more space between the battery cap and the variable gain knob assembly so that it is easier to turn either knob. Another object is to make it easier to replace the single battery in the battery housing.